Grasping the Essence of Condition Monitoring

May 1, 2018

From a maintenance perspective, condition monitoring involves employing a couple of techniques for monitoring how a machine performs. The machines monitored include fixed plant, mobile mining equipment and fleet vehicles, among others. The companies for Mining Engineering NSW has available are seasoned in performing condition monitoring of all forms of mining equipment.

Predictive and Corrective Maintenance

Prior to the Condition monitoring concept becoming popular, standard procedures of maintenance involved predictive maintenance and corrective (or breakdown) maintenance. The fundamental issue with these two ideologies is that components of equipment do not get replaced as often as they should be.

Projecting a Breakdown Timeline

From a perspective of corrective maintenance, certain machines are allowed to run for too long, resulting in their ultimate failure. Conversely from the standpoint of preventive maintenance, these parts oftentimes get changed before this becomes necessary. If you can however identify the specific condition of a given piece of equipment (or the individual components), it would possibly be the most efficient way of conducting maintenance. One need not be troubled about replacing a component if already having physical proof of its status. Instead, you could perhaps task the experts for mining engineering NSW has today to monitor it then record its gradual degradation. Having such information makes it easy predicting the possible timeline of its failure and arranging to have its maintenance done before that time reaches. This undertaking has two important advantages:

You end up getting a longer period of service from industrial equipment and their individual components

It ensures that your equipment keeps well-monitored at all times

Condition Monitoring as a Function

Condition monitoring transcends the action of analyzing captured data. Many companies prefer monitoring their equipment and having them connected to alarms, even of shut off connections. This service can be provided by the specialists in mining engineering NSW firms have. If a piece of equipment reaches an unacceptable level, either the machine involved shuts down or an alarm goes off. When dealing with costly equipment, a small part which fails could occasion appreciable damage if left alone.

Condition Monitoring is carried out through diverse techniques. They include:

Thermal Imaging – Thermal Imaging picks up variations in heat and is employed for identifying equipment as well as specific components that run hotter than they ought to be (which designates imminent failure).

Vibration Analysis – Vibration analysis is applied for signifying when parts get misaligned, fall out of balance, or just bolt down incorrectly. Vibration is a significant problem in the mining and manufacturing industries.

Oil Analysis – Oil Analysis itself involves the action of analyzing contaminants along with condition of oil. Such process can be employed for determining which part of the equipment is getting worn out.

Ultrasonic measurements – Ultrasonic Measurement is applied for measuring the thickness of equipment or a pipe accessible from one side only. Highly efficient and non-destructive, it is used commonly in various departments for maintenance objectives.

All the above tests are non-destructive, being accurate, quick and painless. Each requires a sufficient amount of knowledge. You can ensure that maintenance of your mining equipment is conducted in accurate manner by visiting http://www.mcagroup.com.au/.